Where The Heart Is: Critic Reviews

75%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

35%

RottenTomatoes: 50 reviews

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Jane Sumner Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

Funny, fresh and reassuring.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Steven Rosen Denver Post (Top Critic)

It evokes laughs and a few tears, but also groans at bad material.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Peter Rainer New York Magazine (Top Critic)

The movie isn't all that much -- it's too cloyingly ramshackle -- but Portman isn't playing down to her character this time around.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune (Top Critic)

63

The scenes feel forced, producing episodic plotting and calling attention to the characters' superficiality.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Todd McCarthy Variety (Top Critic)

Banal and trite where it could have been insightful and emotionally truthful.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jonathan Foreman New York Post (Top Critic)

50

A generic, below-par chick flick.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel (Top Critic)

Watching Where the Heart Is, in fact, is a little like listening to the town gossip run her mouth about everyone she knows.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Peter Howell Toronto Star (Top Critic)

The moronic script by Lowell Ganz and 'Babaloo' Mandel has all the subtlety of a Hee Haw reunion and more schmaltz than a Catskills retirement home.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Robert Horton Film.com (Top Critic)

Serves up the usual homilies, but it lacks the quirky density and cinematic snap of, for instance, Jonathan Demme in his Melvin and Howard period.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Sean Means Film.com (Top Critic)

Williams and the Ganz/Mandel team never establish a consistent tone, shuttling from funny scenes to serious ones so arbitrarily that the two moods cancel each other out.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Rick Groen Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

50

Not possessing much in the way of a character arc, saints are boring to watch and impossible to act.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

10

It's too bad [Portman and Frain's] contributions, and those of many others, drown in a big glop of treacle.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Nell Minow Common Sense Media

60

A chick flick that's as yummy as eating bon-bons.
Full Review » 1 year ago
Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

34

... a great big ol' commercial for the Wal-Mart
Full Review » 7 years ago
Judith Egerton Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

50

The script, based on a novel by Billie Lett, is sprinkled with phrases meant to be poignant and funny, but sound like repackaged cliches.
Full Review » 8 years ago
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews

75

...enjoyable enough.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Chris Gore Film Threat

30

This is as irritating as chick flicks come and it's a real disappointment since Portman's talents are totally wasted.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Kay Dickinson Sight and Sound

Unfortunately, the spirited performances (notably Stockard Channing as the benevolent Sister Husband) buckle under the weight of the implausibly overloaded script.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Margaret A. McGurk Cincinnati Enquirer

63

Terrific, grounded performances by Natalie Portman as Novalee and Ms. Judd as Lexie are the saving graces of the movie.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Brent Simon Entertainment Today

50

A rambling but rich examination of both the human spirit and the oft-undiscussed need for a greater community that each of us can plug into.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Luis Martinez Cinenganos

75

Where the heart is trato de abarcar mucho y dar un mensaje demasiado moralista. Pero indudablemente Natalie brilla.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Dennis Schwartz Ozus' World Movie Reviews

17

The film appears to be one big advertisement for the giant department store Wal-Mart and its trailer park clientele.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality and Practice

Reveals what complex blunderers we all are. Luckily, we are often blessed with friends who help us pick up the pieces.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Ross Anthony Hollywood Report Card

63

Love, loss, and family. Bring tissues.
Full Review » 11 years ago
George Perry BBC

40

So much plot is crammed in, it's like a feature-length soap.
Full Review » 11 years ago